Finding Life

February 11, 2016

The lectionary readings for today come from Psalm 1, Deuteronomy 30, and Luke 9. I know this because these Scriptures formed the basis for a funeral meditation I gave this morning for a wonderful, well-lived, and well-loved woman. For those unfamiliar with the term, the lectionary is a daily set of four Scripture readings from the Old Testament, the Psalms, the Gospels, and the Epistles. These scriptures are chosen to coincide with the various seasons of the Christian calendar, and designed to take the reader through the bulk of the Bible in a three-year cycle. The readings are chosen thematically, so whenever reading from the lectionary, the challenge is to find the thread that ties the readings together.

In today's readings Psalm 1 declares of the righteous person, "His delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper." In reading this last night, I noticed something that I hadn't seen before. It's subtle, but it's there; the one who meditates on the Word of God finds life, fruitful, enduring life.

Moving on to the Deuteronomy passage (30:19), Moses is instructing the children of Israel concerning the law of God, telling them they have a choice as to whether or not they will follow it. But that choice has consequences. They can choose that which leads to death, or that which leads to life. "Therefore," he says, "Choose life." Life is not automatically given. In the Psalm, we are compared to trees, but trees have no choice. We are humans, not trees, and God has given us the freedom to accept or reject his life.

In the text from Luke 9:22-24, Jesus tells his disciples that "the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day." Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it."

Those last words are strange, but true. We choose life by letting it go. If I choose life only for me, I may survive, but it will be costly for others. People who choose life for themselves alone soon discover that they have actually chosen death. Those whose only concern is themselves find themselves isolated and rejected by everyone around them except perhaps a few sycophants. The only way to find life - full, abundant, and joyous - is to give life away. Today, meditating as I did on the Word of God, I sent roots down a bit deeper into the life of God, as that first Psalm testifies. But I had to choose life, to deliberately lay down my own self for the sake of others, before I received the fullness of life in ministering to a grieving family.

You might wonder, "So what did he have to lay down or give up?" It's pretty simple. For over forty years when I was preaching, I rarely stepped into the pulpit without feeling nauseous. The knowledge that I was handling the life-giving Word of God would literally make me sick. I've only rarely felt that way since retiring, but this morning it was back, full force. I had a choice: I could give in, choosing life for myself; or I could lay down my life and power through it for the sake of a grieving family whom I love deeply. I chose the latter, and hopefully blessed them as much as ministering to them blessed me. I am a blessed and thankful man tonight because of the life given through hearing and obeying the Word of God.